Eyeshield



June 17, 1947, I J. E. DU BOIS' 2,422,534

EYE SHIELD Filed Jan. 12, 1944 Patented June 17, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE EYESHIELD Tonawanda, N. Y.

Application January 12, 1944, Serial No. 517,947

7 Claims This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in protective eye shields or goggles.

It has for one of its objects to provide an eye shield which is designed to protect the eyes and adjoining portions of the face of the wearer against dust, flying particles and the like encountered in industrial occupations, as well as to protect the eyes against sun glare and the like when working or enjoying ones self in the open air.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive, shatterproof eye shield or goggle of this character which is light and comfortable and capable of withstanding shocks and impacts to which it may be subjected during normal use, and which is so shaped and constructed as to adjustably conform to the wearers face to insure maximum protection in the vicinity of the eyes and which may be worn over ones glasses.

A further object is to so design the eye shield that its one-piece lens member may be readily applied to and removed from the frame or rim member and the latter be capable of receiving two overlying lens members, say of different colors, should it be desirable to convert or correct the goggle for use to protect the eyes against glaring light rays and the like.

Other features of the invention reside in the construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the eye shield embodying my invention. Figure 2 is an enlarged horizontal section taken on line 2-2, Figure l.

v Figure 3 is a cross section taken on line 3--3,

Figure 2. Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the hooked end of the lens member and companion end of the rim member. Figure 5 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of the open end of the rim member and associated parts. Figure 6 is a perspective view of the auxiliary lens member.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

In its general organization my improved eye shield or goggle consists of a frame or rim member l0 made of a plastic material, a single lens member I l of a flexible, shatterproof transparent material, such as a plastic, detachably fitted in the rim member, and a head band l2 attached to the rim member in such a manner that it can be readily adjusted at its attaching ends to suit the head of the wearer.

The frame or rim member I0 is shaped or molded in one piece from any suitable and well known plastic material which is relatively thin and flexible and capable of being bent or flexed to assume a substantially oval form, as shown, and it may be clear and transparent or colored or frosted, depending upon the use to which the goggle is to be put. As shown, the rim member has a suflicient depth or width to enable it to be worn over ones glasses without interference therewith and in front elevation it is substantially oval in shape, while in plan it is preferably concavoconvex in shape, being open at its bottom, as indicated at E3, to bridge the nose of the wearer and also to enable the rim member to be flexed or sprung when installing or removing a lens member. The rear edge of the rim member is concave in shape to follow the contour of the wearers face in the vicinity of the eyes, while its front edge is convex in shape, the concavo-convex shape enabling the rim member to be flexed more or less in adapting or adjusting it to the head of the wearer. Formed along the inner side of the rim member adjacent its convex front edge and ccparallel therewith is an inwardly-facing groove or channel-way it which is adapted to receive the peripheral edge of the lens member for detachably retaining it in place in the rim member and against displacement crosswise thereof. This channel-way may be of a width to accommodate two lens members in side by side relation, say of different colors, to render the goggles adaptable in correcting for sun glare, snow-blindness, etc., as well as converting them for other special uses. In the drawings, the corrective or auxiliary lens member is indicated at l5.

While the lens member H is preferably provided with an outwardly-distended, conical-like portion it at its lower medial edge to fit over the nose of the wearer and afiord added protection from flying particles, the auxiliary lens member i5 is provided with a like-shaped notch II which registers with that of the nose portion l6 when installed.

Adjacent its opposing open ends and in the plane of the lens member receiving channel-way it, the rim member I0 is provided with slots or openings l8, and those portions of the lens membe:- H at either side of its nose-engaging portion it are provided with hook-like elements or projections l9 which are adapted to engage such openings and effectually retain the rim member snugly about the lens member and otherwise interlock said members into a firmly assembled unit. In assembling the goggle, the lens member is inserted in the rear side of the rim member with its hook-like elements i9 brought into register with the companion openings l8, after which the lens member is forced in a snap-like fashion forwardly to bring its periphery into register with the channelway M in the rim member, the latter flexing outwardly in response thereto and the lens member contracting across the convex contour of the rim member in a relative fashion to 3 enable the parts to snap into their interengaged position. The removal of the lens member is effected by a reversal of this operation.

The inner edge of the rim member If] is preferably outwardly flanged along its upper and lower edges, as indicated at 20 and 2|, respectively, to present a smooth surface where the goggle contacts the forehead and cheeks of the wearer. The lower flange 2| continues around the companion lower ends of the rim member and toward the front edge thereof, as indicated at 22, to reinforce such member about the lens-hook receiving openings [8.

In its top the rim member has means for ventilating the facial area enclosed and protected by the goggle, and by preference this means is in the form of a mesh or baffle-like screening 23 which is molded or otherwise physically embodied into the rim member. Because of its bafile-like construction, this ventilating means also functions to prevent outside moisture or the weather from entering the interior of the goggle.

The head band [2 of the goggle is preferably attached thereto by means of a built-in buckle construction consisting of a plurality of parallel slots 24 disposed at opposite ends of the rim memher and into which the free ends of the head band are threaded in an interlooping fashion. Three of such slots are shown at each end of the rim member, the corresponding end of the head band being threaded in reverse or intertwined fashion through the slots and about the intervening webs resulting therefrom, with the free end of the band then passing over the inner side of the rim member and outwardly through the entering slot. By this construction, the head band can be readily adjusted by the user as desired without the use of separate buckles or other fastenings.

I claim as my invention:

1. An eye shield of the character described, comprising a relatively thin, flexible rim member of substantial width having the inner edge thereof shaped to fit the contour of the wearers face in the vicinity of the eyes and having the front edge thereof convexly curved, and a lens member fitted in and following the convexly-curved contour of the front edge of said rim member, the bottom side of the latter being open to accommodate the nose and the lens member being shaped to engage the nose.

2. An eye shield of the character described, comprising a relatively thin, flexible rim member of substantially oval shape open at its bottom across the wearers nose and having the inner edge thereof shaped to fit the contour of the wearers face in the vicinity of the eyes and having the front edge thereof convexly curved, means formed on the inner side and adjacent the front edge of said rim member forming an inwardlyopening channel-way following the convexly curved contour of such rim member, and a lens member of flexible, shatterproof transparent material shaped to engage the wearers nose and detachably engageable at its periphery with said channel-way and following the convexly-curved contour of the front edge of said rim member.

3. An eye shield of the character described, comprising a flexible, open-ended rim member of substantially oval shape having the inner edge thereof shaped to fit the contour of the wearers face in the vicinity of the eyes and having the front edge thereof convexly curved, said member being open at that portion thereof adjacent the wearers nose and having an inwardly opening channel-way therein coparallel to the convexly- 4 curved front edge thereof, the inner edge of said rim member being outwardly flanged at predetermined portions thereof, and a lens member of flexible transparent material detachably engageable at its periphery with said channel-way to follow the convexly-curved front edge contour of the rim member. 7

4. An eye shield of the character described, comprising a flexible, open-ended rim member of substantially oval shape having the inner edge thereof shaped to fit the contour of the wearers face in the vicinity of the eyes and. having the front edge thereof convexly curved, said member being open at that portion thereof adjacent the wearers nose and having an inwardly opening channel-way therein coparallel to the convexlycurved front edge thereof, the open end portions of the rim member having openings therein in line with said channel-way, and a lens member of flexible, transparent material detachably engageable at its periphery with said channel-way to follow the convexly-curved front edge contour of the rim member and having hook-like elements thereon for interlocking engagement, with the companion openings in said rim member.

5. An eye shield of the character described, comprising a flexible, open-ended rim member of substantially oval shape having the inner edge thereof shaped to fit the contour of the wearers face in the vicinity of the eyes and having the front edge thereof convexly curved, said member being open at that portion thereof adjacent the wearers nose and having an inwardly opening channel-way therein coparallel to the convexlycurved front edge thereof, the open end portions of the rim member having openings therein in line with said channel-way, and a lens member of flexible, transparent material detachably engageable at its periphery with said channel-way to follow the convexly-curved front edge contour of the rim member and having hook-like elements thereon for interlocking engagement with the companion openings in said rim member, the front and rear edges of the lower side of the rim member in the vicinity of the lens member openings being flanged and the inner edge of the upper side of said rim member being flanged.

6. An eye shield of the character described, comprising a one-piece, substantially oval-shaped frame of flexible material open at its bottom to bridge the wearers nose and of concave-convex shape in plan, the concave side thereof being adapted to fit the contour of the wearers face in the vicinity of the eyes and the front convex side thereof having an internal groove therein, and a lens member of flexible, shatterproof material detachably fitted at its periphery in said groove and -retained thereby in co-convex relation with the convex side of the frame.

'7. An eye shield of the character described, comprising a flexible, open-ended rim member of substantially oval shape having the inner edge thereof shaped to fit the contour of the wearers face in the vicinity of the eyes and having the front edge thereof convexly curved, said member being open at that portion thereof adjacent the wearers nose and having an inwardlyopening channel-way therein co-parallel to the convexlycurved front edge thereof, the open end portions of the rim member having openings therein in line with said channel-way, a lens member of flexible, transparent material detachably engageable at its periphery with said channel-way to follow the convexly-curved front edge contour of the rim member and having hook-like elements there.-

on for interlocking engagement with the companion openings in said rim member, and a second lens member of flexible material adapted to be detachably fitted in said channel-way in overlying relation to said first-named lens member. JOSEPH E. DU BOIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Lamb June 11, 1895 Number Number 

